Autumn's Fall
by SummerstormDancer
Summary: Why are there only two Fae Courts, when a year contains four seasons? Hear now the tragic tale of the Autumn Court's fall, and the sacrifices made by the Spring. OC-heavy, backstory for a DFRPG campaign I'm running.


A/N's and warnings: This is the backstory for a DFRPG campaign. Lots of OC's, some concept spoilers up through _Cold Days_.

Prologue:

We approached her office, nervously, not knowing what we would find. All we knew is that she was connected to this, somehow. The disappearances, the strange magic in the air, all of it had started not long after she had come to this city. But we'd seen her saving one of the victims, so we knew she wasn't to blame.

Before my hand hit her office door to knock, a slightly irritated voice rang out from the office "Come in."

Exchanging looks, we did.

"So, what brings you two here, hmm?" the woman behind the desk asked.

"We want to know what's going on," my partner snarled. He was never the greatest at controlling his temper.

"Well," the professor responded, raising a pale eyebrow, "that's quite a general question. There's a new set of dorms being built on campus, I think the film club is…"

"That's not what he meant, and you know it." I cut her off. "Why have the Little Folk all disappeared? Who is kidnapping so many vanilla mortals, and why? Why does the air around the Stonehenge replica feel so.,. different?" I ask.

"Ah, so those are the answers you seek. Be warned, they will not make easy hearing. And there are many who would kill you for this knowledge," she replied, her green eyes suddenly going hard. "Are you sure you still wish to know?"

"We need to. One of the missing, she's a friend of ours. And we can't help her if we don't know what's going on." I replied, meeting her gaze without wavering.

She seemed impressed. "So you wish to help, little one? Very well then, I'll tell you the tale of the fall of the Autumn Court."

"The…what? But there are only two courts of the fae: Summer and Winter." I replied.

"That is true now, but it was not always so. I admit it always baffles me how no one seems to wonder why that should be; that we should have two courts to represent four seasons. But, I suppose, it is for the best. If the Autumn were remembered more strongly, we'd have more work maintaining the seal."

"Wait, so there used to be four courts? What happened to the others?" I ask, all but entranced.

"That is what I will now tell you. I will tell you the story, as it has been handed down through my family for generations." She said, sitting straighter in her chair as her eyes focused on nothing. Then, in a tone that indicates a recitation of something memorized from childhood, she began.

"Gather round, children, and I will tell you a tale. A tale of a time long gone, a time when legend, history, and myth blurred together as one. Since the beginning of human history, the Fair Folk have guided humanity, and guarded us from those who dwell beyond the Gates. In times of old, the Fair Folk were divided into four Courts, each taking its name from one of the seasons. The two extreme Courts, Winter and Summer, were bound by duties at the gates. The Winter Court, cold and hard of heart, served then, as now, as soldiers, battling those monsters which tried to pass through the gates. These creatures would destroy all that exists should they be allowed to pass. The Summer Court, kind and brave, were battlefield medics, ensuring that Winter's soldiers could do their duty."

"The two temperate courts, however, served their duties here, in the world of men. The Autumn Court, harsh yet fair, policed the mortals for signs of corruption by the Enemy, for those Outside are deceitful and clever. They walked among the mortals and sought out the taint, then destroyed that which they found. The Spring Court, kindest of the four, served to protect humanity from both Autumn's zealotry and predation by off-duty soldiers of Winter. These two Courts acted directly with the mortals they defended, not through mortal Knights as the remaining courts do to this day. This was to their sorrow, as they would eventually discover. Having the entire court of Autumn work primarily in the mortal realm put them at a terrible risk when the Enemy unleashed a new weapon; one which would not be recognized as the threat it was until it was far too late…"


End file.
